KH Guardian: Automatic Alkalinity Controller- My Experiences

[ksfulk]

I've got the KHG monitor + AIM showing up on Monday. Aside from the standard read all of the directions is there anything to be aware of out of the box? Are people still getting units from CoralVue with the old boards?

 

[Dan Snyder]

I've got the KHG monitor + AIM showing up on Monday. Aside from the standard read all of the directions is there anything to be aware of out of the box? Are people still getting units from CoralVue with the old boards?

Have one of the original ones idk what you mean about the new boards. I did have a lot of problems with mine for months almost threw it in the trash. Even DVC (inventor) said mine was the hardest one he has ever had to break, but he got it all fixed, and works perfect now, and flawless. He’s amazing, so if anything just reach out. Also good luck with the rebuild on your tank, been following, sorry for the looses, this well definitely help keep things stable.

 

[justingraham]

@DVC am I using the picture 6b in the Manual to set up my new ph probe?

 

[DVC]

1. It is not a standard part of KHG, and since I don't know its acid point curve, I am not sure if it can be used.
2. Yes, please refer to the height installation of Figure 6B first, then I will continue to assist you with the calibration.

 

[justingraham]

1. It is not a standard part of KHG, and since I don't know its acid point curve, I am not sure if it can be used.
2. Yes, please refer to the height installation of Figure 6B first, then I will continue to assist you with the calibration.

I got it from coravue this is the second one they sent me as the first one was wrong too

 

[justingraham]

I don't know the details of the order. Please head over to www.coralvue.com/support and submit a ticket and we will take care of the issue there. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Carlos the second ph probe you sent me @DVC said is also wrong how do I get the right one?

 

[ReefTeacher]

This month I need to finish the secret weapon that will be launched soon. at the end of the month will be at the 2018 CIPS exhibition

Any hints as to what this "secret weapon" is? will it be launched soon?

 

[CoralFragZ]

awesome, do you have a build thread I could check out?

I since took one tank down. but there is a lot of history there just google my screen name. thx.

 

[ihavecrabs]

Who can decipher which reagent should be used for the KH Monitor Only version? There seems to be two types of reagents out there.. Professional and Standard edition. Only one I can find available is the Professional.

@DVC
@Carlos@CoralVue

 

[ReefTeacher]

I have only found one reagent. Are there two different ones? I have noticed that the packaging has varied over time, but I believe it is all the same reagent. Are I mistaken?

 

[ihavecrabs]

Who can decipher which reagent should be used for the KH Monitor Only version? There seems to be two types of reagents out there.. Professional and Standard edition. Only one I can find available is the Professional.

@DVC
@Carlos@CoralVue

I have only found one reagent. Are there two different ones? I have noticed that the packaging has varied over time, but I believe it is all the same reagent. Are I mistaken?

Yes, I did get in touch with the manufacturer and there is only one reagent now. Both the KHG and KHG-M are professional grade.

 

[CoralWealth]

Do I need an apex or any other 3rd party controller with this? I am thinking of buying the montior and controller. I want to be able to see my values on bluetooth or the internet if possible instead of having to look at the actual Guardian all the time.

Also, does anyone know if there is any chance this will go on sale for black friday or if anyone has one for sale?

Thanks!!

 

[ihavecrabs]

Do I need an apex or any other 3rd party controller with this? I am thinking of buying the montior and controller. I want to be able to see my values on bluetooth or the internet if possible instead of having to look at the actual Guardian all the time.

Also, does anyone know if there is any chance this will go on sale for black friday or if anyone has one for sale?

Thanks!!

To be able to read the read out online you can either port forward on your home router to allow you to log in or a third party controller. But the controller is not required.

I could definitely be wrong but at this price point I don't see it getting much lower. I bought mine last week so if I miss out on a 10% off, oh well!

A year ago these things were much more expensive!

 

[CoralWealth]

To be able to read the read out online you can either port forward on your home router to allow you to log in or a third party controller. But the controller is not required.

I could definitely be wrong but at this price point I don't see it getting much lower. I bought mine last week so if I miss out on a 10% off, oh well!

A year ago these things were much more expensive!

Thanks Jon.

So if I can have an Ethernet cord going from my home router into the KH Guardian, I will be able to access it via the internet? I am looking at this and the alkatronic, obviously this is a lot cheaper but the alkatronic has wifi, etc which for me if a big deal as I do not have a third party controller. However, if all I need is an ethernet connection from my router to the KH Guardian to have access to it online, that would be perfect

 

[ReefTeacher]

I believe all you need is an Ethernet cable going to your router. But then you must use port forwarding to open up the port from outside your house. You might want to assign a static IP address to the KHG on your network; it uses port 8090 by default. You can then forward the external request to your internal IP address:8090. This will get you to the KHG interface.

I few things: after each measurement the KHG reboots and requests a new IP address from the router. This is why I think a static IP is best. Secondly, I have had mine almost a year and am very pleased with it. But recently, it has been "losing" its IP address after about 2 hours. The screen reads the IP address is 0.0.0.0, but I cannot access it. I usually just wait for the next measurement and reboot, but if you were trying to access this externally, it would be frustrating. It did not always do this, so maybe yours won't.

Anyway, I have my hooked up to the pH port on my Apex and can read the output, even if the KHG has lost its IP address. It also allows me to control Kalk dosing based upon my KH. I am very happy with my purchase.

 

[CoralWealth]

I believe all you need is an Ethernet cable going to your router. But then you must use port forwarding to open up the port from outside your house. You might want to assign a static IP address to the KHG on your network; it uses port 8090 by default. You can then forward the external request to your internal IP address:8090. This will get you to the KHG interface.

I few things: after each measurement the KHG reboots and requests a new IP address from the router. This is why I think a static IP is best. Secondly, I have had mine almost a year and am very pleased with it. But recently, it has been "losing" its IP address after about 2 hours. The screen reads the IP address is 0.0.0.0, but I cannot access it. I usually just wait for the next measurement and reboot, but if you were trying to access this externally, it would be frustrating. It did not always do this, so maybe yours won't.

Anyway, I have my hooked up to the pH port on my Apex and can read the output, even if the KHG has lost its IP address. It also allows me to control Kalk dosing based upon my KH. I am very happy with my purchase.

Thank you for the reply, I greatly appreciate it. I definitely am leaning towards getting one

 

[ihavecrabs]

Thanks Jon.

So if I can have an Ethernet cord going from my home router into the KH Guardian, I will be able to access it via the internet? I am looking at this and the alkatronic, obviously this is a lot cheaper but the alkatronic has wifi, etc which for me if a big deal as I do not have a third party controller. However, if all I need is an ethernet connection from my router to the KH Guardian to have access to it online, that would be perfect

Reefteacher answered this best above..

You can make this unit Wifi as well. They have a recommended adapter to buy that plugs into the ethernet port.

 

[CoralWealth]

I may have missed this, but say I want alk to be 7.5 and in one test it tests 8, will it turn off the c02 on my calcium reactor till it goes back down till 7.5 or does it only adjust the alk level if it tests too low, say 7.

 

[ReefTeacher]

Cody,

it depends on how you program it. Many of us just hook the KHG up to our Apex and use the Apex programing to control Alk additions. In my case I use solenoids to control the flow of my ATO. I like my Alk around 8.5, so if dKH<8.3, the solenoid opens to make my ATO pump into my Kalk reactor. If dKH >8.7, then the solenoids open and close so that my ATO is only adding fresh water. If 8.3<dKH<8.7, which is most of the time, I have the solenoids alternate on/off every hour, to keep things stable. You could use any tolerance level, large or small to control your CO2 solenoid. But remember, the KHG is only testing every 4 hours by default, you really do not have a record of what happens during those 4 hours.

 

[CoralWealth]

Cody,

it depends on how you program it. Many of us just hook the KHG up to our Apex and use the Apex programing to control Alk additions. In my case I use solenoids to control the flow of my ATO. I like my Alk around 8.5, so if dKH<8.3, the solenoid opens to make my ATO pump into my Kalk reactor. If dKH >8.7, then the solenoids open and close so that my ATO is only adding fresh water. If 8.3<dKH<8.7, which is most of the time, I have the solenoids alternate on/off every hour, to keep things stable. You could use any tolerance level, large or small to control your CO2 solenoid. But remember, the KHG is only testing every 4 hours by default, you really do not have a record of what happens during those 4 hours.

Thank you, I appreciate that. I was looking to buy a used one that does not have AIM and I do not have an APEX, so I don't think that is possible for me unless I buy an APEX and AIM, which at that point would be hundreds more. I wish there was a way for it to control turning off the C02 if alk was too high without the APEX